Going Back to Work after a Long Layoff
Posted August 11th, 2014
For one reason or another, you have been out of work for a rather long time, more than a year. Now, you want to reenter the workforce. You know it’s not going to be easy. Employers have a natural aversion to hiring people who have been out of work for more than six months.
Whether true or not, after a long layoff, they believe a person’s skills have eroded too much to be of use in the workplace. So, if you find yourself in this situation, how should you go about find a job?
One thing to do is network. Having been away from work for a while, you probably have lost touch with people in your field. You want to reestablish contact. You can do this by getting in touch with former colleagues for informational interviews. You should also work to make new contacts in the same way. Using social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn will help with this endeavor.
After being out of work for a lengthy amount of time, your skills may have become a bit rusty, especially if you work in a more technical field, and so it would also be a good idea to brush up and bring yourself up to date by taking some classes. This doesn’t mean going back for a full-fledged degree, but only taking selected courses in areas where things may have advanced more rapidly. Certifcation programs are particularly good for this purpose. This will also look good on a resume and address employers’ concerns about skill erosion.
Volunteer. This is also a good way to keep your skills fresh when you volunteer in an area related to your profession. It is also a good way to network. And it shows employers that you used your time constructively during your layoff.
Make sure you address your work gap on your resume. You cannot just allow a huge gap there without any kind of explanation. So, if you have taken a leave from work to raise a child or care for an aging parent, put that on the resume, and explain how it helped you grow as a person.
Also, don’t pass up more non-traditional work opportunities, such things as contract work, contingent work, project work or consulting. It gives you an opportunity to show an employer what you can do, while at the same time allowing the company the freedom to use your services without the obligations that go along with hiring you as a full-time employee.
If you’re a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area and are looking for work in the IT sector, send your resume to Bayside Solutions, one of the premier staffing agencies in the Bay area. We look forward to hearing from you.
